The creation of works of art, such as through painting or drawing, is a common commercial and leisure activity. An artist often creates a work while viewing a particular subject either in his or her studio or outdoors. Various techniques are known for aiding the artist in creation of a particular work.
One method of assisting artists involves the use of a sighting grid. Such grids generally include a plurality of intersecting horizontal and vertical lines. The artist may view an image through the grid as the areas between the intersecting horizontal and vertical lines are either open or are made of a transparent material. Next, the artist can apply a similarly proportioned grid to the drawing or painting surface. The artist may more easily paint or draw the image onto the working surface as the grid breaks the image up into smaller, more manageable portions. Further, the grid assists the artist in visualizing three dimensional form and perspective as a two dimensional shape for a better result upon transfer of the image to the working surface.
Another technique used by artists is employed when an artist desires to reproduce the natural color of an image while working in a color medium. In order to accurately reproduce the color of such an image the artist must determine the value of the image. The value of the image refers to the amount of light reflectance from the image and, as such, may be described as its level of lightness or darkness. A known method of ascertaining the value of the studied image involves viewing the image through a light filter such as a green light filter. The green light filter may be a piece of green, transparent plastic that acts to turn the various colors of the viewed image into shades of green. Upon creation of such a monotone image, the artist may more easily distinguish the various values of the colors for use in making a more accurate reproduction on the working surface.
An additional method used by artists in the creation of a work involves framing of the image. Here, the artist uses an object such as a viewing frame to better visualize how the image will look once put onto the working surface. The frame acts to block out undesired objects in the artist's field of vision and hence allows the artist to better concentrate on the desired subject. Upon the absence of a frame, the artist may use his or her fingers to frame the image. Although useful when creating a work of art from a photograph, the use of a frame is especially helpful when making a plein air painting as the artist's vision is normally overloaded from the surrounding environment.
Although previous devices are known for aiding an artist in the creation of a work, they are limited to assisting with only one technique. Further, other devices are cumbersome and do not optimize the particular employed method of assisting the artist. As such, there remains room for variation and improvement within the art.